Ward 2 City Council candidate Darius Little took a shot at City Hall during a candidates' forum Thursday.
Asked for his philosophy on the budget, Little brought up the city's Youth Council. Created in 2003, the council is supposed to involve its members in city boards and commissions and service projects.
"The Youth Council is the Jesus Christ of crime prevention for the City Council," said Little, who claimed the youth on the council don't represent depressed neighborhoods or gangs.
"There are two administrators that run the youth council," he continued. "Guess how much they make? $234,000. ...
"Why don't we cut some of the pork out of the youth council?"
Churches, he said, could perform the same functions for free.
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Duke Energy's request to raise its rates has drawn opposition from City Council candidate Donald Hughes.
"At a time when our citizens are burdened by a struggling economy, rising water and sewer rates and increased taxes, a 13.5 percent increase in Duke Energy rates is unbearable," Hughes said in a prepared statement.
Hughes also said the utility's plan to build a new coal-powered plant is "unacceptable."
The request is before the state Utilities Commission.
